RFIDs are considered to be radio emitters, and therefore must follow a set of frenquency regulations.

There is no global public body that governs the frequencies used for RFID. In principle, every country can set its own rules for this. The main bodies governing frequency allocation for RFID are:

• Europe: ERO, CEPT, ETSI, and national administrations (note that the national administrations must ratify the usage of a specific frequency before it can be used in that country)
• USA: FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
• Canada: DOC (Department of Communication)
• Japan: MPHPT (Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Post and Telecommunication)
• China: Ministry of Information Industry
• Australia: Australian Communications and Media Authority.
• New Zealand: Ministry of Economic Development

Low-frequency (LF: 125 - 134.2 kHz and 140 - 148.5 kHz) and high-frequency (HF: 13.56 MHz) RFID tags can be used globally without a license.

Ultra-high-frequency (UHF: 868 MHz-928 MHz) cannot be used globally as there is no single global standard. In North America, UHF can be used unlicensed for 908 - 928 MHz, but restrictions exist for transmission power. In Europe, UHF can be used in the 865.6 - 867.6 MHz band.

For Australia and New Zealand, 918 - 926 MHz are unlicensed, but restrictions exist for transmission power.

These frequencies are known as the ISM bands (Industrial Scientific and Medical bands).

• ISO 11784 & 11785 - These standards regulate the Radio frequency identification of animals in regards to Code Structure and Technical concept
• ISO 14223/1 - Radio frequency identification of Animals, advanced transponders - Air interface
• ISO 14443 - Known as Mifare tags (HF)
• ISO 15693 - Known as iCode tags (HF)
• ISO 18000 - For UHF tags

EPC Global & Gen2

The Electronic Product Code, (EPC), is a family of coding schemes for Gen 2 RFID tags. It is designed to meet the needs of various industries, whilst guaranteeing uniqueness for all EPC-compliant tags. The EPC accommodates existing coding schemes and defines new schemes where necessary.

The Electronic Product Code promises to become the standard for global RFID usage, and a core element of the proposed EPCglobal network.

EPCglobal (operated by GS1) is working on international standards for the use of RFIDs and the EPC in the identification of any item in the supply chain for companies worldwide.

The EPCglobal gen 2 standard was approved in December 2004, and is likely to form the backbone of RFID tag standards in the future. EPC Gen2 is short for EPCglobal UHF Generation 2. EPC standardisation is headed to become adopted by ISO, e.g. in accordance with complementary standardisation based on the ISO standard 18000-6.